STAYING WARM IN CHILLY ECUADOR

I spent a lot of time sipping tea and having light conversation with country folk in the mountains of Ecuador. Te verde is a classic, and with the fire stoked and friendly company nothing really beats it.

Spencer and I took a series of busses to end up here - in the middle of the street - with nowhere to go, really. We stumbled across a quaint little hostal, a darling cabin tucked in the mountains hosted by families. It's such a small town that there are no restaurants or stores, except a few cabins made into hostals for the few passersby.

We spent the day hiking the crater rim of Quilotoa Lake, which was seen in our video here. It was pretty chilly so we bundled up in our beanies and jackets and had ourselves a little adventure. It takes about 6 hrs to complete the entire rim, and you can even rent little boats or horses!

The best part of traveling is trying new things. Although I can't say that "cheese tea" really captured my interest, I was definitely intrigued to watch as the cheese floated to the bottom of their cups. They loved it! The fact that we Americans thought it odd made them chuckle.

If you are looking for a RAD place to stay when you come to Quilotoa, you need to go to this hostal. Too bad I forgot what it's called (how lame) but you only have a few options anyway, so just look inside to get a peek. The lady who owns it is amazing - she and her daughters cooked all our meals for us, and made sure to keep us warm by stoking our fire in this little cabin. There are enough beds to sleep you AND 8 of your friends! How rad is that! So cheap, too. And it has a loft upstairs with more beds... seriously, the coolest set-up ever. Lots of thumbs up to Quilotoa - a little out of the way, but definitely worth the trip!

That crater/lake looks so beautiful! I saw your video last week! :) Such beautiful country there!!! And that cheese tea stuff makes me cringe. Yuck. Did you try the Coca tea or whatever it's called that uses cocaine leaves?! haha it's delicious and cures a stuffy nose like no other!http://waspwhispers.blogspot.com